Amid storm, garbage pickup a concern

Madison City Hall was taking calls Wednesday morning assisting residents with questions about garbage collection and roads but urging them to stay home.

“(We are) trying to keep the roads and bridges safe,” said Madison Public Works Director David Hodge. “Other than that, we are just trying to keep people at home.”

Overall, things were going pretty smoothly, he said. There have been no major power outages, but it hasn’t been this cold since 1900, according to the National Weather Service.

“We are asking our employees to come in if they can make it,” Hodge said. “We have boots on the ground and are making calls as needed, throwing salt and sand out as needed.”

Madison County, like much of Texas and the Southeast, was blanketed in ice and snow and remained frozen over and closed Wednesday with garbage collection suspended and mid-week church activities cancelled.

Entergy had been directed to start rolling blackouts in Mississippi, but those were suspended. Residers were asked to lower thermostats and conserve power.

On Wednesday morning, only 56 of 49,591 Madison County Entergy customers were without service, according to poweroutage.us. 

Schools, government offices and most businesses have been closed since Monday after a winter storm moved in Sunday afternoon bringing record low temperatures, including 14 degrees recorded Tuesday breaking the previous record of 15 set in 1900.

The Madison Parkway Bridge was closed Sunday afternoon and while most roadways have remained open they are treacherous, officials have said.

Governmental offices were closed Monday for the President’s Day observance and Canton, Madison and Ridgeland city halls were closed Tuesday and Wednesday due to the winter storm.

Meanwhile, Madison County remains under a second winter storm warning with expected wintry mix of ice and snow through Thursday with skies clearing Friday and eventually warming Sunday. 

Temperatures, however, are projected to remain at or below freezing through the weekend. 

Hodge said most of the calls the city received are concerning roads with people asking the city to make the roads more passable.

“We are throwing sand and other deicing agents on the roads and bridges,” Hodge said.

Some calls are from people asking about garbage collection, Hodge said. Waste Management has not made a determination when collection will resume.

“We will post updates on our social media,” Hodge said.